Collection by Madison Taylor
Prefab
Cedar slats mark the facade of Floating House, Doug and Becca Worple's lake house in Ontario. The architects, MOS, chose materials and shapes that wouldn’t stand out. “They’re really simple, almost Platonic forms,” principal Michael Meredith says. The modest cabin has boat, a gabled roof and a cladding of untreated cedar, a material that shows up on docks and homes along Georgian Bay. “Allowing the buildings to weather seems the right thing to do,” Sample says. And it’s ready for winter: Sliding barn doors seal the place up as an impenetrable box.
Those seeking isolation and inspiration to tackle their work need look no further. A minimalist cube set against a picturesque background form a studio free of distraction, except maybe that view! Newfoundland, Canada. By Saunders Architecture from the book Rock the Shack, Copyright Gestalten 2013.
The family retreat abuts a rocky cliff in Herfell, Norway. The central cabin provides communal living spaces, while the two cabins that flank it are used as private sleeping quarters.
The sleeping cabin perches on a rocky rise near the Floating House; Meredith imagines these two as a start of a string of buildings that will wrap around the island.
Updating the A-frame of yore, this home’s liberal use of windows makes the most of panoramic views spanning two valleys. Catalonia, Spain. Cadaval & Sola-Morales from the book Rock the Shack, Copyright Gestalten 2013.
The charred cedar exterior gently basks in the Alaskan sun.
Estate Bungalow in Matugama, Sri Lanka, by Narein Perera as published in Cabins (Taschen, 2014).
Deep eaves prevent the entrance from being buried in snow. The clients can see directly into the valley and mountains below.
Anka Lamprecht and Lukas Wezel shared their rustic domicile in a valley in Grotli, Norway. Boasting an enviable view, it’s the first cabin archived in the book’s “Backcountry” category that features homesteads in the wilderness.
The House for a Musher is all about taking advantage of its hilltop site. The courtyard in the front has vast views and the house itself is oriented toward the surrounding landscape.
Though the retreat is clearly meant to afford the solitude writing so often requires, Kathleen reports that "it's very lively. Deer approach, birds bathe. The sun warms my desk and you can hear the rain."
Immerso Glamping, a 65-square-foot prefab structure designed by Italian architects Fabio Vignolo and Francesca Turnaturi, is located in the Piedmont region of Italy. With a simple palette of birch plywood and plexiglass, the cabin was inspired by the architects’ experience designing easy-to-assemble, flat-packed cabins for disaster relief. You can book it on Airbnb for around $90.
This 191-square-foot cabin near Vancouver and its glass facades "forces you to engage with the bigger landscape," architect Tom Kundig says, but it seals up tight when its owner is away. The unfinished steel cladding slides over the windows, turning it into a protected bunker. Read the full story here.
Elsewhere Cabin by Sean O'Neill
The Deep Thoughts Chaise from Blu-dot sits atop a rug from Rugs.com.
Siting closely within the surrounding pine forest, the Weehouse designed by Alchemy Architects and constructed by Irontown Homes rest only one half hour up the mountain from Boulder, CO.The tight driveway and secluded mountainside locale created an interesting delivery in which the modules were lifted by crane over the treetops and set into place. The pre-finished steel siding has been joined by a special fire protective shell due to lying in a high risk fire zone. The plethora of windows allow for natural sunlight to illuminate the warm, open interior.